#marshal lefebvre

[credo--ergo-sum]

For sorting reasons here is a collection of all the ink portraits i did of some napoleonic men

[ot-alsace]

Marshal Lefebvre

[lavendersewingcircle]

Catherine Hubscher, Maréchale Lefebvre Duchesse de Dantzig, by an anonymous artist circa 1810

Of all the Marshals’ wives, Catherine was one of the most loyal to Napoleon. This did not prevent her from criticising him though, and she did so bluntly when she felt it was deserved. Despite this, Napoleon and Josephine were both very fond of her and while some at court sneered at this woman of most humble beginnings, the Emperor made a point of using her title every time he spoke to her. On one occasion, when the Duchess of Lusignan snidely remarked “Sire, it pleased your Majesty to drop the title of duchess on Madame Lefebvre”, Napoleon rather coldly shot back “It pleased me to raise the title of duchess to Madame Lefebvre”!

x

[hanciiii]

thinking about drawing all 26 marshals at this point, it would be a fun challenge ☆

[ayumunoya]

Absolutely in love with this scene of the Lefebvres 💖💖💖

[captainknell]

Happy birthday Marshal Lefebvre! October 25, 1755

[josefavomjaaga]

Ansbach, 1806

Translated from »Denkwürdiger und nützlicher rheinischer antiquarius [...]«. A chevalier von Lang gives a description of the days in 1806 when Frenchmen under Bernadotte were quartered in Ansbach. Bernadotte hosted several balls and invited up to 500 military officers, including some from other corps.

I once saw four marshals there at the same time: Bernadotte, a towering dark man; Mortier, even taller, with a long stiff braid and a spiritless shield-guard figure; Lefebvre, an old Alsatian gaiter servant, with his wife, the former regimental laundress, and Davoust, a small, bald, unassuming man who could not get enough of waltzing. Of all of them, Davoust was the most modest and quietest in his cantonnement, and at that time nothing less than a tyrant, as he was later to be known in Hamburg, presumably in the urge of quite different circumstances.

Davout, letting loose on the dance floor. Just as we know him 😁.

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 19: MADAME SANS-GÊNE (1961)

1. The Introduction

Greetings, Citizens and Neighbors! Welcome to a special Christmas review of the Jacobin Fiction Convention! Today, January 7th, is Christmas in Russia, even though it’s only celebrated by people of Orthodox Christian faith.

But, guess what, I am an Orthodox Christian and I do celebrate this holiday so here is my Christmas present for everyone. This review is dedicated to @saintjustitude , @stalinistqueens , @suburbanbeatnik , @jefflion , @idieonthishill , @theravenclawrevolutionary , @joachimnapoleon , @josefavomjaaga , @tairin , @fountain-ring , @fireortheflood , @michel-feuilly , @taleonne , @janellefeng , @revolutionary-catboy , @revolution-and-football , @spunkyjacobin , @donpishya , @maggiec70 , @edgysaintjust , @quercusfloreal , @aminoscribbles , @elisabeth515 , @robespapier and a newcomer in our Convention, Citizen @jaeee-e !

Okay, now we can begin! Once again, I found a movie that is Napoleonic and FRev- related at the same time! Thanks, IMDb! Apparently there are two movies with this title but today we’re only discussing the 1961 one, with Sophia Loren.

As I’m a big fan of older movies and I really like it when media tackles obscure people, I knew I had to watch this one and review it for both communities!

Unfortunately, most of you will only be able to find it on Amazon Prime Video so it’s not exactly readily available online, but, if anyone manages to dig something that doesn’t require subscriptions up, call me.

Anyway, I’m excited for this so let’s just proceed! On with the show!

2. The Summary

The titular Madame Sans-Gêne is Catherine Lefebvre (née Hübscher), wife of Marshal Lefebvre and Duchess of Danzig.

This is the story of her journey from a simple laundress to war hero to a noble, and of the trials and tribulations that she has to overcome while fighting for her happiness with her beloved husband.

I’m not a fan of love stories for the most part, but let’s take a closer look at this one.

3. The Story

For once, the pacing wasn’t confusing to me! Yay! The movie doesn’t try to squeeze in too much time chronologically and instead it treats us to a couple of time skips where the subtitles on screen and the narrator helpfully explain the historical bullet points to give us the context.

This is awesome, especially for people who don’t know much about Frev and/or the Napoleonic era, as it spares them the unnecessary confusion. Therefore, more people can enjoy this movie.

I also love the fact that, while romance is basically an essential part of the plot, it’s rather skillfully intertwined with quite a bit of action, comedy and even drama.

Besides, for once, I was actually sold on the love story of Catherine and Lefebvre. I’m sure the actors also contributed to this, but I personally actually believed that the main couple actually was madly in love and ready to do anything to stay together. And trust me, they do some truly ballsy shit, especially Catherine. More on her later.

There is also some filler that does a pretty good job at character establishment and character development, but not so much that it becomes unbearable and is just filler.

(Spoiler alert!)

That said, I kind of wish that the main conflict, what with Napoleon wanting to make Lefebvre King of Westphalia on the condition that he divorces Catherine after the latter’s blunt remarks cause a scandal, wasn’t resolved as quickly as it was and just brushed aside, but I still enjoy this certain naïveté.

Not all stories have to be extremely complex thrillers and I still enjoyed it. Sure, the theme of “the power of love” might be cliché, but there’s nothing wrong with exploring it yet again. Love in any form is indeed a universal concept and, let’s face it, sometimes we do need simpler stories such as this one.

There’s also a bit of foreshadowing about Napoleon becoming Emperor that’s a bit too obvious for my tastes, but that’s not a serious complaint.

Alright, let’s look at the characters.

3. The Characters

(Spoiler alert!)

Boy, do I love Catherine here! She is basically the personification of the phrase “old habits die hard”.

Blunt, witty, rude, hardworking and independent, she is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone, soldier or emperor. That said, she is also loyal and caring. She follows her husband to war, cares for wounded soldiers and even gets wounded herself. I also like the fact that her blunt remarks are picked up by the press and provoke a scandal. It shows that our heroine isn’t some Mary Sue who is completely above consequences.

Moreover, she and Lefebvre BOTH wreak absolute havoc in the camp of Austrians, who had captured them earlier and wanted to execute them. Catherine is a fucking badass! Sure, she still displays realistic emotions like fear and sadness, but she is a strong woman who never goes down without a fight.

Her playful banter with Napoleon and Augereau is also genuinely entertaining.

Lefebvre is a badass here too (in real life he took part in the battle of Fleurus, Citizens), but he doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Napoleon at first. It is indeed daunting because Napoleon is the Emperor and can actually make Lefebvre a King and can make him divorce Catherine.

Realistically, Lefebvre hesitates because he genuinely loves Catherine but also doesn’t find the courage to oppose Napoleon...until he does. This is what I like the most about his character in the movie. His hesitation is understandable but he finds the strength to go straight to Napoleon, tell him he can’t divorce his wife and add that he doesn’t need a throne nor his title if it means that he will have to be without his beloved.

I love characters who fight for their happiness no matter what, and I love the way Lefebvre overcomes his fear in the movie. Plus he has a cute kitten here and there’s a sweet scene involving him and Catherine cuddling her.

Napoleon here is actually complex. As a common general, he has playful banters with Catherine and messes around with her, but later he becomes Emperor, gets arrogant as fuck and even has a few really angry outbursts. One of said outbursts is directed at his own siblings when they’re discussing who should get Westphalia.

Napoleon complains that everyone in his family is a leech and they wouldn’t be where they are without him, which is kinda true but it also looks like here the power went to his head.

That said, when he recognizes Catherine and when she manages to convince him not to make the divorce happen, he reverts back to the way he acted with her before - that same witty banter! He even admits his defeat and he and Catherine have a good laugh while remembering the past.

Napoleon’s siblings (Jerome, Caroline, Elise and Pauline) are shown as petty arrogant assholes who try to put Catherine in “her place”. Jokes on them because she wastes no time ranting about how she did more (on the battlefield) than all of them (at home) and how they all would be nobodies had the Revolution not happened so they end up utterly humiliated.

Augereau, Jourdan and Masséna make cameos and Catherine uses them to prove her point how all of them were commoners before.

Augereau playfully pinches Catherine’s ass at one point, but it’s not portrayed as harassment, more as a joking thing on his part. They seem to be quite friendly in this movie.

Last but not least, F**ché. He literally listens to the Bonaparte family while hiding behind a secret door and skillfully manipulates people and situations. But, like the snake he is, he knows all the right words to say and is polite and deceivingly friendly at times.

In general, the characters feel like real people here. They bicker, they talk about their plans for Sunday or the future in general, they overcome conflicts and they all have something interesting about them!

4. The Acting

I really like Sophia Loren here, but almost every single actor does a fantastic job. Nothing but mad respect for that!

5. The Music

I love music in older movies. I don’t know why but it really appeals to me. Plus, they insert revolutionary songs in the beginning, which is a plus in my book!

6. The Setting

The settings and the costumes are gorgeous, even though I’m not sure they’re always accurate. At least the Frev costumes are on point though, as far as I can tell.

7. The Conclusion

I really enjoyed this movie and I low key wish it was available online for free, but I still recommend it. It definitely has a charm to it. Just a nice relatively simple story that manages (at least for me) to be a truly exciting piece of media and makes me happy that I discovered this gem.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our Christmas meeting. Stay tuned for updates and stay safe, everyone!

Merry Christmas,

- Citizen Green Pixel